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Scandinavia (RP)
Scandinavia (Icelandic: Skandinavía; Swedish: Skandinavien), formally known as the Scandinavian Federation '(Icelandic: ''Norræna Sambandsríkið; Swedish: Skandinaviska Federationen) or the '''Union of Northern European Nations, is a federal republic in Northern Europe. It borders Aluvitar to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north and Russia to the east. At 2,123,545 square kilometers (819,905 sq mi), it is the largest country on the European continent by area. Scandinavia is inhabited by around 64.7 million people, making it the second most populous state in Europe after Aluvitar. Its capital city is Stockholm while its largest and most populated city is Berlin. Despite being called the "Scandinavian Federation", almost half of its citizens are of German ethnicity while Norsemen only make up around one quarter of the entire population. The Federation was first established in May 1328 by the Union of Qaqortoq as the Greenlandic–Icelandic Community. Until 1412, the country was a confederation consisting of only Greenland and Iceland. Although both territories were de facto independent from each other, they were both represented by a monarch, the first being High Queen Áslaug (1328–1341), who ruled over Greenland's and Iceland's respective leaders. During the time of the Kalmar Union, the Norwegians signed a covenant with High Queen Sigríðr I, the Kalmar Union and Frukonia declaring the accession of the Norwegian provinces Nordland and Trøndelag into the Community; however, the south had to be ceded to Frukonia and the north to the Kalmar Union. Together with the Union of Fjarðabyggð, the official name of said covenant, the Greenlandic–Icelandic Community was renamed to the Crown of the Nordic Kingdoms. After High Queen Sól blóðug's (English: 'Sol the Bloody') tyrannical reign from 1789 to 1852, the High Council of Jarls unanimously decided to abolish the monarchy in the country to prevent any other tyrant dictating the nation and its people. After her execution in Þingvellir in March 1852, a federal republic has been installed with democratic elections. Moreover, the amount of administrative divisions was increased from seven to thirteen; with Svalbard (formerly Norway), Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia (formerly Livonia), and Poland (formerly Germany) becoming their own jurisdictions. Federal legislative power is divided between two legislative chambers: the 1,289-member Allsherjarþing ''(English: 'General Assembly') and the 21-member Federal Council. The first democratically elected Federal President was Ásbjørn Úlvarsson from the Faroe Islands, who served for three consecutive terms (i.e. 15 years) in a majority government composed of the People's Party and the Social Democratic Party. The incumbent President is Tjark Atle Hammarskjöld who is currently serving in his first term. Etymology By the time of its establishment, the state was officially called '''the Greenlandic–Icelandic Community'(Icelandic: Grænlensku–Íslensku Semfélagið). The second official name of the state was the Crown of the Nordic Kingdoms(Icelandic: Kórónan Norrænu Konungsríkjanna, Danish: Kronen af de Nordiske Kongeriger, Swedish: Kronen av de Nordiska Kungarikena, Latin:Corona Regnorum Nordici) and the Latin term was usually used in international treaties and diplomacy. In everyday speech, it was usually referred to as "the Nordic Commonwealth", or simply "the Commonwealth" (Icelandic: Þjóðveldið, Norwegian: Samveldet, Swedish: Samväldet) by that time. During the Union of Friendship with the USSR, the state was officially called the Scandinavian Federation under Communist Union of Friendship (officially Скандинавская Федерация при Коммунистическом Союзе Дружбы Skandinavskaya Federatsiya pri Kommunisticheskom Soyuze Druzhby in Russian); while it is now officially called the Scandinavian Federation '''or simply '''Scandinavia. History Middle Ages The first people to inhabit Iceland were Celtic monks who inhabited parts of the Reykjanes peninsular as early as 800. In 870, the first Norseman to set foot on the island was Garðar Svavarsson who stayed for one winter but departed the island later on. Later in 874, the Norwegian-Norse chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson built the first permanent Norse settlement on Iceland in present-day Reykjavík. After that, many other Norwegian farmers and chieftains migrated to and settled on the island together with their thralls and livestock. By 930, most of the island was claimed by the Norse settlers, leading to the construction of the Althing which is now the capital and administrative center of the Nordic Commonwealth. Due to a lack of arable land, some settlers traveled further eastward, discovering Greenland in 986. The Union of Qaqortoq The construction of the Althing (Icelandic: Alþingi) was also the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth. During its time, many chieftains governed their respective plots of land. They met annually in the Althing to discuss new laws and rules to administer the island. The Icelandic Commonwealth lasted until the 13th century, when the political system devised by the original settlers proved unable to cope with the increasing power of Icelandic chieftains. In 1262, Iceland swore its fealty to King Haakon IV of Norway in the Old Covenant. The signing brought about the union of Iceland with Norway, which lasted until the Kalmar Union was established in 1318. Iceland used this opportunity and claimed their independence from Norway; however, the Kalmar Union later demanded the Icelandic chieftains to swear their fealty to the Union again. To avoid being conquered by the Norwegians and Danes, Iceland and Greenland formed a personal union, the Greenlandic–Icelandic Community, with the signing of the Union of Qaqortoq in 1328. In early 1412, Icelandic settlers wanted to travel to Scotland, but what they found on their way were the at that time uninhabited Faroe Islands. Unaware of the fact that they didn't land in Scotland, they settled at the northern coast of Streymoy, the largest island of the Faroe Islands. They only became aware that they were in fact on the Faroe Islands when they encountered Christian Scottish settlers in the south of Streymoy, who told them that they were not living in Scotland. When the Kalmar Union first appeared to fall, the weakened and oppressed Norwegians, who were oppressed by the Danes and the rather totalitarian Swedish king, signed a covenant with then-reigning High Queen Sigríðr I. Said covenant, called the Union of Fjarðabyggð, entailed the accession of the Norwegian provinces of Nordland, Trøndelag and Troms to the Greenlandic–Icelandic Community in 1485. By that time, the south of Norway was occupied by Frukonia and the north had to be ceded to the Kalmar Union in exchange for their separation. Category:Nations (RP)